It is typical practice within the garment industry to treat garments so as to impart particular properties and characteristics to said garments. In particular, garments are often treated so as to impart on said garments particular looks which may be fashionable. Garments which are treated are typically subjected to chemical treatments and dyeing so as to make the garments more appealing.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,213 issued Apr. 26, 1988 to Ricci entitled "Method of Producing A Random Faded Effect on Cloth or Made-Up Garments, and the End-Product Obtained by Implementation of Such a Method" ("the '213 Patent") is directed to a method of fading cloth wherein cloth is put into dry contact with pumice granules that are impregnated with a chemical bleaching agent in a drum which is rotated for a preset period of time. By utilizing material having powerful bleaching properties and tumbling granules and cloth together in a rotating drum, the garments produced by the method described in the '213 Patent are made to have a uniformly faded appearance.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,645 issued Sep. 5, 1978 to Zurbuchen et al. entitled "Fine Particle Application of Dyes or Optical Brightener to Leathers or Fabrics In a Tumbling Drum At Low Volume in a Hydrophobic Solvent" ("the '645 Patent") teaches an improved process for the dyeing of organic material, particularly synthetic organic material, from organic solvents with application of a short goods-to liquor ratio. Garments treated by the method described in the '645 Patent have the appearance of being uniformly dyed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,165 issued Mar. 21, 1978 to Thompson entitled "Piece Goods Dyer and Process of Dyeing" ("the '165 Patent") is directed to a process and a machine particularly suited for dyeing at a low liquid-to goods ratio for synthetic fibers. The process and apparatus disclosed in the '165 Patent obviate the problems of non-uniform coloring and non-uniform shading of garments. Garments subjected to the process and apparatus of the '165 Patent are made to have the appearance of uniform coloring and uniform shading.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,315 issued Apr. 23, 1974 to Rosenbaum et al. entitled "Solvent Dyeing with Aqueous Perchloroethylene-Hydrocarbon Mixture and Recovery of the Solvents After Dyeing" ("the '315 Patent") is directed to a method for dyeing fabrics employing a conventional dyeing operation with the exception that the dye-bath utilized employs a two-phase system. In this system, the dye is dissolved in a minimum amount of water which contains an inert water-immicisble solvent in an amount to make up the total volume of the dye-bath. At the completion of the dyeing operation, the excess dye in dyeing adjuvants, being insoluble in the organic solvent, remain in the aqueous phase. The solvent can then be readily recovered from the spent dye-bath by mechanical separation without change of state. Garments produced by the method described in the '315 Patent are thus dyed using a minimum amount of water.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,355 issued Jan. 8, 1974 to Fielding entitled "Solvent Dyeing or Solvent Creaseproofing with Steam and Solvent Vapor Dyeing" ("the '355 Patent") is directed to a process for applying a finishing agent to a substrate comprising treating a substrate with a solution, dispersion or emulsion of the finishing agent in an organic solvent and then treating the substrate with steam to remove the organic solvent, and subsequently treating the substrate with superheated steam or vapor of the organic solvent. Garments treated by the method described in the '355 Patent have specific properties, such as crease resistance, water repellancy and soil resistance by substrates such as textile materials, paper or plastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,840 issued Oct. 16, 1973 to Durr et al. entitled "Process for Controlling the Temperature of a Dyeing Mixture" ("the '840 Patent") is directed to an apparatus and a method of dyeing textiles comprising subjecting textiles to a treatment mixture containing two or more liquids, heating the mixture to obtain rapid vaporization of the liquid, condensing the resulting vapors and directing at least a portion of the condensate away from the treating mixture until the temperature of the dyeing mixture increases to a desired level. Garments treated by the methods disclosed in the '840 Patent are uniformly dyed.
To date, no method has been developed for treating garments, particularly denim garments, such that the garments have an antique-like look and feel. According, it is an object of this invention to provide a method of treating garments so that said garments have an antique-looking appearance and feel. It is a further object of this invention to provide antique-looking garments.